Electrical lapping guide disposed laterally relative to a shield pedestal

ABSTRACT

Methods are provided for fabricating an electrical lapping guide, and for using the electrical lapping guide to fabricate a transducer of a magnetic recording head. Additionally, transducers comprising an electrical lapping guide are also provided. Methods of fabricating the electrical lapping guide comprise forming a resistive element proximate to a shield pedestal. Accordingly, the resistive element is both aligned with the shield pedestal in a transverse direction, and closely spaced from the shield pedestal in a longitudinal direction. The resistance of the resistive element correlates well with a throat height of the shield pedestal, and the correlation is utilized in the methods of fabricating the transducer. When a magnetoresistive stripe is uses as a second electrical lapping guide while fabricating the transducer, the two can be used to control a tilt angle in the transverse direction during lapping.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to the field of magneticrecording and more particularly to magnetic heads for perpendicularrecording.

BACKGROUND

Perpendicular magnetic recording is a recording technique in whichmagnetic data bits on a magnetic recording disk are defined such thattheir magnetic moments are perpendicular to the plane of the magneticrecording disk, as opposed to in the plane of the disk as occurs withlongitudinal magnetic recording. The progress to perpendicular recordingfrom longitudinal recording is seen as one of the advances that willallow the continued increase in data densities on magnetic recordingdisks in the coming years.

A recording head comprises a transducer 100, and a slider 101 (only aportion of which is shown in the various figures so that their scalemight allow a clear depiction of the transducer structure). FIG. 1 showsa cross-sectional view of a transducer 100 according to the prior art.The transducer 100 comprises a perpendicular recording write element 105and a read element 110 that both terminate at a terminus surface (TS).The terminus surface of the transducer 100 is approximately parallel toan air bearing surface (ABS) of a slider 101 and can be either coplanarwith the ABS or slightly offset therefrom, usually with a slight amountof recession. The read element 110 includes two shields 115 and amagnetoresistive (MR) stripe 120.

The perpendicular recording write element 105 includes a bottom pole125, a writer pole 130, a top shield 135, and a shield pedestal 140. Thebottom and writer poles 125 and 130 are joined together to form a firstyoke. The first yoke includes coil windings 145 disposed between thebottom and writer poles 125 and 130. The writer pole 130, top shield135, and shield pedestal 140 are also joined together to form a secondyoke, and the second yoke also includes coil windings 150 disposedbetween the writer pole 130 and the top shield 135. Additionally, thesecond yoke further includes a gap layer 155 disposed between the writerpole 130 and the top shield pedestal 140 in the vicinity of the terminussurface. Also shown in FIG. 1 are a number of encapsulating layers 157,formed typically of a dielectric material such as alumina (Al₂O₃).

Of particular concern to the performance of the write element 105 is athroat height (TH) of the shield pedestal 140. The throat height isdefined as a distance between the terminus surface and a back edge 160of the shield pedestal 140. The throat height, as well as a depth of theMR stripe 120 as measured from the terminus surface (i.e., the stripeheight, SH), are commonly defined by a lapping process that forms theterminus surface. To better appreciate the difficulty in controlling thethroat height during the lapping process it is useful to understand theoverall fabrication process.

Fabrication of the transducer 100 is typically performed in a batchprocess in which multiple recording heads, each including a transducer100, are formed on a wafer and then cut apart. Starting with the barewafer, multiple patterned layers of magnetic, electrically conductive,and dielectric materials are deposited through well known deposition andplanarization techniques to provide rows of unfinished perpendicularrecording heads. After the deposition steps have been completed, thetransducers of these unfinished perpendicular recording heads resemblethe transducer 100 of FIG. 1 except that the terminus surface has notyet been defined and the layers that will be exposed at the terminussurface extend beyond where the terminus surface will ultimately bedefined (to the left of the TS in FIG. 1).

Next, rows (sometimes referred to as slider bars) of unfinishedperpendicular recording heads are cut from the wafer. The cuttingprocess produces a face on each bar that is then polished back to formthe terminus surface. The polishing process is typically a lappingprocess, and during the lapping process the layers that will be exposedat the terminus surface are also polished back. The importance ofaccurately determining when to stop lapping will be apparent, as thisdetermines the position of the terminus surface and the criticaldimensions of the throat height and stripe height. Overlapping, forexample, can completely remove the MR stripe 120.

It will also be understood that the face that is lapped to form theterminus surface has two dimensions, a longitudinal direction thatextends perpendicular to the plane of the drawing in FIG. 1 and atransverse direction that extends from top to bottom in the plane of thedrawing. Multiple unfinished perpendicular recording heads extend alongthe bar in the longitudinal direction. In the prior art, considerableattention has been directed to controlling the lapping process in thelongitudinal direction so that the transducer 100 on each of theunfinished perpendicular recording heads on the bar are lapped toapproximately the same degree. Absent such control, many transducers areeither overlapped or underlapped.

Controlling the lapping process in the longitudinal direction istypically achieved through the use of electric lapping guides (ELGs)that are placed in multiple locations on the bar, for example, at bothends and the center. An ELG is commonly a metal layer between twoelectrical contacts that is exposed at the face and lapped concurrentlywith the rest of the bar. In some instances the MR stripe 120 can beused as an ELG. Lapping the ELG causes the electrical resistancemeasured between the two contacts to increase. Lapping can be controlledin the longitudinal direction, therefore, by monitoring the ELGs along abar and adjusting the pressure being applied to the bar at differentlocations along its length. In this way each transducer 100 along thelength of the bar is lapped at approximately the same rate. Lapping isterminated when the resistance measured across some or all of the ELGsexceeds some threshold.

FIG. 2 shows a cross-sectional view of the transducer 100 of FIG. 1 andillustrates the effect of not controlling tilt in the transversedirection during lapping. A dashed line in FIG. 2 indicates the positionof the TS from the example of FIG. 1, and TS′ is the terminus surfacedefined through lapping without controlling transverse tilt. As can beseen from FIG. 2, when lapping is controlled by the resistance of the MRstripe 120, or by an ELG disposed near the MR stripe 120, a very slighttilt of the bar with respect to the transverse direction can seriouslyoverlap or underlap the shield pedestal 140. Comparing FIGS. 1 and 2,the stripe height is essentially the same in both examples, however thethroat height in FIG. 2 is approximately half of the throat height inFIG. 1. It has been found, for instance, that a mere 1° tilt in thetransverse direction can translate into a 0.15μ difference in the throatheight.

Therefore, what is needed is a way to better control the throat heightwhen lapping to form a terminus surface of a transducer.

SUMMARY

An exemplary magnetic recording head of the present invention comprisesa transducer including a write element and an electrical lapping guide.The write element includes a writer pole and a shield pedestal disposedabove the writer pole. The writer pole is separated from the shieldpedestal by a gap layer. The shield pedestal has a first back edgedefining a first plane, and the shield pedestal extends from a terminussurface to the first back edge. In some embodiments, a distance, knownas a throat height, between the terminus surface and the first back edgeis less than about 0.15μ. The electrical lapping guide includes aresistive element disposed above the writer pole and laterally disposedrelative to the shield pedestal. The resistive element has a second backedge defining a second plane that is essentially parallel to the firstplane.

Methods of fabricating an electrical lapping guide are also provided. Inan exemplary embodiment, such a method comprises forming a gap layer ofa dielectric material above a writer pole layer, forming a patch of anelectrically conductive material above the gap layer, forming a masklayer over the gap layer, the mask layer including an ELG opening abovethe patch and a shield pedestal opening laterally disposed relative tothe patch, and forming a shield pedestal layer within the shieldpedestal opening and forming an ELG mask within the ELG opening. Theexemplary method further comprises removing the mask layer, selectivelyremoving the patch except for a resistive element portion covered by theELG mask, and removing the ELG mask to expose the resistive elementportion. In some embodiments, the method can further comprise forming aseed layer over the gap layer before forming the mask layer. In theseembodiments selectively removing the patch can include removing the seedlayer except where the seed layer is covered by the shield pedestallayer and the ELG mask.

The present invention also provides methods of fabricating a transducer.In an exemplary embodiment, such a method comprises providing asubstrate, forming a writer pole above the substrate, forming a gaplayer above the writer pole, forming a shield pedestal layer above thegap layer, the shield pedestal layer having a first back edge defining afirst plane, and forming an electrical lapping guide including aresistive element layer above the writer pole and laterally disposedrelative to the shield pedestal layer, the resistive element layerhaving a second back edge defining a second plane essentially parallelto the first plane. The exemplary embodiment further comprises dividinga slider bar from the substrate, the slider bar including a lappingface, the lapping face being essentially parallel to the first andsecond planes and exposing the shield pedestal layer and the resistiveelement layer. The exemplary embodiment additionally comprises lappingthe lapping face of the slider bar while monitoring a first electricalresistance measured across the electrical lapping guide, and stoppingthe lapping when the first electrical resistance reaches a predeterminedthreshold.

In some embodiments of the method of fabricating the transducer,providing the substrate includes forming a magnetoresistive stripelayer. In these embodiments lapping the lapping face of the slider barwhile monitoring the first electrical resistance can further includemonitoring a second electrical resistance across the magnetoresistivestripe layer. Some of these embodiments further comprise adjusting alapping tilt angle as a function of the first and second electricalresistances.

The present invention also provides methods of fabricating a transducer.In an exemplary embodiment, such a method comprises providing asubstrate, forming a writer pole above the substrate, forming a gaplayer above the writer pole, forming a shield pedestal layer above thegap layer, and forming an electrical lapping guide including a resistiveelement layer above the writer pole and laterally disposed relative tothe shield pedestal layer, the electrical lapping guide comprising anelectrical path from a first ELG bonding pad through the resistiveelement and to a second ELG bonding pad thereof. The exemplary methodfurther comprises dividing a slider bar from the substrate, the sliderbar including a lapping face, and forming a shield pedestal from theshield pedestal layer by lapping the lapping face of the slider barwhile monitoring an electrical resistance measured across the electricallapping guide until a desired throat height of the shield pedestal isachieved. The exemplary method further comprises dividing the head fromthe slider bar, the head including a slider and a transducer, thetransducer including the resistive element layer and the shieldpedestal, and forming an air bearing surface on the slider includingforming a channel extending across the transducer that breaks theelectrical path from the first ELG bonding pad to the second ELG bondingpad.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a perpendicular recording headaccording to the prior art.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the perpendicular recording head ofFIG. 1 showing the effect of tilt in the transverse direction duringlapping.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken through an exemplary unfinishedtransducer and particularly through a shield pedestal thereof, accordingto an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a graph correlating the electrical resistance of an exemplaryelectrical lapping guide, according to an embodiment of the presentinvention, as a function of the throat height of an associated shieldpedestal.

FIG. 5 is a top view of an exemplary transducer of the present inventionshowing exemplary electrical connections that comprise part of anelectrical lapping guide.

FIGS. 6-11 illustrate steps of an exemplary method of fabricating anelectrical lapping guide according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 12 is a flow-chart illustrating an exemplary method of fabricatinga transducer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a flow-chart illustrating another exemplary method offabricating a transducer according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 14 is a top view of the exemplary transducer of FIG. 5 showing achannel of the air bearing surface extending across the transducer.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 3 shows a cross-sectional view taken through an unfinishedtransducer 300 and particularly through a shield pedestal layer 310thereof. In FIG. 3, the longitudinal direction of FIGS. 1 and 2 isindicated. As shown, a terminus surface (TS) is defined by lapping alapping face of a bar of unfinished perpendicular recording heads, eachincluding a transducer 300, until the desired terminus surface isreached. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the desired terminus surfaceis reached when a throat height (TH) of the shield pedestal layer 310 iswithin a narrow range, for example 0.15μ to 0.20μ. It will be understoodthat although the terms “lapping” and “lapping face” are specific to aparticular polishing process known in the art, the invention is notlimited to lapping but is equally applicable to any material removaltechnique that can controllably and uniformly remove material from thelapping face to provide a suitably smooth surface.

In order to control the lapping process such that the lapping can bestopped when the throat height is within the desired range, theunfinished transducer 300 also comprises an electrical lapping guide 320that includes a resistive element layer 330 coupled between twoelectrical contacts 340. An electrical measurement device, such as anohm-meter 350, can be coupled to the electrical contacts 340 to monitoran electrical resistance across the resistive element layer 330 duringthe lapping process. It will be appreciated that as the lapping face islapped, material is removed from both the shield pedestal layer 310 andthe resistive element layer 330. Further, as material is removed fromthe resistive element layer 330, the resistance measured across theresistive element layer 330 increases.

The resistive element layer 330 of the electrical lapping guide 320 issituated in close proximity to the shield pedestal layer 310 so thatmeasurements made of the resistive element layer 330 are representativeof the state of the shield pedestal layer 310. Accordingly, as shown inFIG. 4, the throat height of the shield pedestal layer 310 can becorrelated to the resistance measured across the resistive element layer330. As the throat height decreases, the resistance of the resistiveelement layer 330 increases.

Close proximity between the resistive element layer 330 and the shieldpedestal layer 310 may be achieved, in part, by situating the resistiveelement layer 330 on the same side of a writer pole (not shown) of theunfinished transducer 300 as the shield pedestal layer 310. In FIG. 3,the writer pole is disposed below the plane of the drawing. As usedherein, “above” and “below” are used to indicate orientation withrespect to the transverse direction (see FIGS. 1 and 2). In FIG. 3, thetransverse direction is perpendicular to the plane of the drawing; thus,both the shield pedestal layer 310 and the resistive element layer 330are disposed above the writer pole.

Close proximity may be further achieved by minimizing a lateralseparation, d, measured in the longitudinal direction between theresistive element layer 330 and the shield pedestal layer 310. Becauseof the small lateral separation, it will be appreciated that theelectrical lapping guide 320 of FIG. 3 will ultimately be incorporatedwithin the finished transducer. It will also be appreciated that thelateral separation should not be made too small to avoid having theresistive element layer 330 excessively influence the shape of thefringing magnetic field around the shield pedestal during writingoperations. Accordingly, in some embodiments, a suitable separationbetween the resistive element layer 330 and the shield pedestal layer310 is between about 100μ and 250μ.

In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 3, a back edge 360 of the shieldpedestal layer 310 is aligned with a back edge 370 of the resistiveelement layer 330 so that the resistance measured across the resistiveelement layer 330 approaches infinity as the throat height approacheszero. In other embodiments it is sufficient for the planes defined bythe back edges 360, 370 to be essentially parallel instead of coplanar.Further, the thickness of the resistive element layer 330 in thetransverse direction, and the width in the longitudinal direction, canboth be chosen so that when the throat height is within the desiredrange, the resistance of the resistive element layer 330 is in anapproximately linear portion of the graph shown in FIG. 4, and theresistances that correspond to the limits of the desired throat heightrange are well separated.

FIG. 5 shows a top view of an exemplary transducer 500 of the presentinvention to show one example of the electrical connections thatcomprise part of an electrical lapping guide 510. The electrical lappingguide 510 comprises a resistive element 520, two electrical contacts530, an ELG bonding pad 540, and a combined ELG/write bonding pad 550. Awrite circuit comprises the ELG/write bonding pad 550, a dedicated writebonding pad 560, and a coil 570, as shown. The presence of theelectrical path through the electrical lapping guide 510 that isconnected to the write circuit by the ELG/write bonding pad 550 does notmeaningfully affect the writing performance of the transducer 500because the ELG bonding pad 540 is only employed during lapping andotherwise the electrical lapping guide 510 constitutes an open circuit.

Although the embodiment shown in FIG. 5 combines one of the ELG bondingpads with one of the write bonding pads, it will be understood that thisis for improved space utilization and is not essential to the invention.Alternately, two independent ELG bonding pads can be employed. Likewise,the electrical lapping guide 510 can comprise a combined ELG/readbonding pad and an ELG bonding pad, where two read bonding pads serve acomparable function in a read circuit. Other arrangements of read andwrite circuits that can be readily adapted to include an electricallapping guide and a ELG bonding pad are taught by U.S. Pat. No.6,674,610 issued to Thomas et al., which is incorporated herein byreference.

It is noted that the resistive element 520, electrical contacts 530, andcoil 570 are shown as dashed lines in FIG. 5 to denote that they areburied layers within the transducer 500, however, FIG. 5 should not beread to imply that any of these layers are necessarily at the samedistance below a surface 580 that includes bonding pads 540-560, northat the features are drawn to scale. It will also be recognized thatalthough the electrical contacts 530 are shown as vias between theresistive element layer 520 and the traces that extend from the bondingpads 540 and 550, the electrical contacts 530 can be implemented moregenerally by an arbitrary series of traces and interconnects.

FIGS. 6-11 illustrate a method of fabricating an electrical lappingguide according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Themethod comprises forming a gap layer of a dielectric material above awriter pole layer, forming a patch of an electrically conductivematerial above the gap layer, forming a mask layer over the gap layer,the mask layer including an ELG opening above the patch and a shieldpedestal opening laterally disposed relative to the patch, and forming ashield pedestal layer within the shield pedestal opening and forming anELG mask within the ELG opening. The method further comprises removingthe mask layer, selectively removing the patch except for a resistiveelement portion covered by the ELG mask, and removing the ELG mask toexpose the resistive element portion.

FIG. 6 shows the steps of forming a gap layer 600 above a writer polelayer (not shown, below the plane of the drawing), and forming a patch610 above the gap layer 600. The gap layer 600 is formed of a dielectricmaterial such as alumina by a deposition technique such as sputteringand can be planarized to provide a highly smooth and flat surface uponwhich to build further layers. With reference to FIG. 1, it will beappreciated that gap layer 600 is typically formed above a writer polethat can be a common component of two yokes. In these embodiments themethod can include forming a first yoke, such as the first yoke thatincludes bottom pole 125 and writer pole 130 (FIG. 1), before formingthe gap layer 600. The method can also include forming a read element,such as read element 110 (FIG. 1) before forming the first yoke.

It will be appreciated that although the transducer 100 (FIG. 1)provides a useful illustration for describing an embodiment of themethod of the invention and the transducer 100 includes two yokes, thefirst yoke that includes bottom pole 125 is not essential to the methodsor the transducers of the invention. Some transducers of the inventionemploy only the second yoke that includes top pole 135 and writer pole130 (FIG. 1). In methods of the invention that are directed to formingsuch transducers, the method can also include forming a read element,such as read element 110 (FIG. 1), before forming the writer pole 130.

The patch 610 ultimately will become a resistive element layer in theelectrical lapping guide and therefore the patch 610 is formed of anelectrically conductive material. Noble metals like gold and rutheniumwork particularly well in those embodiments that employ chemical etchingin a further step. The patch 610 can be formed by well known masking anddeposition techniques such as photoresist patterning and sputtering.

FIGS. 7 and 8 show the step of forming a mask layer 700 over the gaplayer 600, and the optional step of forming a seed layer 710 over thegap layer 600 before forming the mask layer 700. FIG. 7 shows a top viewwhile FIG. 8 shows a cross-section taken along the line 8-8 in FIG. 7.In the step of forming the mask layer 700, the mask layer 700 includestwo openings, an ELG opening 720 above the patch 610 and a shieldpedestal opening 730 laterally disposed relative to the patch 610 by aseparation, d. Forming the mask layer 700, in some embodiments, caninclude patterning a layer of photoresist. The optional seed layer 710may be a very thin electrically conductive layer, such as copper, thatis advantageous for electroplating on non-conducting surfaces. The seedlayer 710 can be omitted where the subsequent step of forming a shieldpedestal layer 740 and forming an ELG mask 750 (see FIG. 8) areperformed by a method that does not require a seed layer, such assputtering. The seed layer 710 can be formed, for example, bysputtering.

FIG. 8 additionally shows the step of forming the shield pedestal layer740 within the shield pedestal opening 730 and forming the ELG mask 750within the ELG opening 720. In some embodiments, forming the shieldpedestal layer 740 and the ELG mask 750 includes plating, such aselectroplating. Although the illustrated embodiment shows the shieldpedestal layer 740 and the ELG mask 750 being formed from the samematerial, such as by plating a high moment magnetic material, it isnoted that alternatively the two features can be formed separately fromdifferent materials by utilizing additional masking and depositionsteps. It will be appreciated that the shield pedestal layer 740 of FIG.7 will become a shield pedestal layer, like the shield pedestal layer310 in FIG. 3, in a finished transducer, and therefore should befabricated from a suitable magnetic material. However, the ELG mask 750is ultimately sacrificial (see FIG. 11) and is only formed from the samemagnetic material as the shield pedestal layer 740 for simplifiedprocessing, in some embodiments.

FIGS. 9-11 show the steps of removing the mask layer 700 (FIG. 9),selectively removing the patch 610 except for a resistive elementportion 1000 covered by the ELG mask 750 (FIG. 10), and removing the ELGmask 750 to expose the resistive element portion 1000 (FIG. 11).Selectively removing the patch 610 can be achieved, for instance, byplasma etching. Removing the ELG mask 750 can be achieved by wetchemical etching, for example. In these embodiments, the chemicaletchant is chosen to readily remove the ELG mask 750 while beingessentially unreactive with respect to the material of the resistiveelement portion 1000. The shield pedestal layer 740 can be protectedfrom the chemical etchant by a further masking step (not shown) thatmasks the shield pedestal layer 740 but leaves the ELG mask 750 exposed.Thus, in some embodiments, the step of removing the ELG mask can includemasking the shield pedestal layer 740 before etching.

It can be seen from FIGS. 10 and 11 that a bottom surface of the shieldpedestal layer 740 may be parallel with a bottom surface of theresistive element portion 1000, and offset only by a thickness of theseed layer 710, and it will be appreciated that the two surfaces may becoplanar in those embodiments that do not employ the seed layer 710.Accordingly, the resistive element portion 1000 and the shield pedestallayer 740 may be aligned with each other in the transverse direction, aswell as being proximate to each other in the longitudinal direction,making the resistive element portion 1000 a good proxy for the shieldpedestal layer 740 during a subsequent lapping step of a method offabricating a transducer. Because of this arrangement, in the finishedtransducer a bottom surface of the shield pedestal may be substantiallycoplanar with a bottom surface of the resistive element.

In those embodiments of the method in which the seed layer 710 is formedover the gap layer 600 before the mask layer 700 is formed, the step ofselectively removing the patch 610 can include removing the seed layer610 except where the seed layer 610 is covered by the shield pedestallayer 740 and the ELG mask 750, as shown in FIG. 10. Removing the seedlayer 610 from between the shield pedestal layer 740 and the ELG mask750 prevents the electrical lapping guide from electrically coupling thewrite circuit to the yoke in the finished transducer. Also, although theresistive element portion 1000 is only shown in cross-section in FIGS.10 and 11, it will be understood that the resistive element portion 1000has the same footprint as the ELG mask 750 which has the same footprintas the ELG opening 720 (FIG. 7).

The exemplary method of fabricating the electrical lapping guide canfurther comprise forming a pair of electrical contacts 340 (FIG. 3) onthe resistive element portion 1000. The electrical contacts can beformed, for example, by plating. Additionally, the method can furthercomprise forming additional electrical traces and bonding pads necessaryto couple the resistive element portion 1000 to a measurement device. Insome embodiments, forming such bonding pads includes forming either acombined ELG/write bonding pad or a combined ELG/read bonding pad, asdescribed above.

FIG. 12 is a flow-chart illustrating an exemplary method of fabricatinga transducer. The transducer can comprise either a longitudinal orperpendicular write element. Embodiments of the method can beparticularly advantageous with respect to fabricating perpendicularrecording transducers because they allow the throat height of a shieldpedestal to be precisely defined. The exemplary method of fabricatingthe transducer includes steps for forming on a substrate, such as awafer, an unfinished transducer that includes an electrical lappingguide, a step for dividing from the substrate a slider bar that includesthe unfinished transducer, and steps for completing the transducer byutilizing the electrical lapping guide.

According to the exemplary method, multiple unfinished magneticrecording heads are fabricated in parallel on the substrate, a sliderbar comprising a plurality of unfinished magnetic recording heads isdivided from the substrate, where each unfinished magnetic recordinghead includes transducer having an electrical lapping guide. Magneticrecording heads are completed from the plurality of unfinished magneticrecording heads on a slider bar by utilizing one or more of theelectrical lapping guides to control a lapping process that defines thethroat heights of the transducers of the magnetic recording heads.Although the exemplary method is suitable for fabricating magneticrecording heads in parallel, as noted above, the method will bedescribed generally with respect to a single transducer of a singlerecording head for simplicity.

As noted, the exemplary method of fabricating the transducer includessteps for forming on a substrate an unfinished transducer that includesan electrical lapping guide. These steps comprise a step 1210 ofproviding a substrate, a step 1220 of forming a writer pole above thesubstrate, a step 1230 of forming a gap layer above the writer pole, astep 1240 of forming a shield pedestal layer above the gap layer, and astep 1250 of forming an electrical lapping guide. Providing thesubstrate in step 1210 can include providing a wafer, and forming a readelement on the wafer. Step 1210 can optionally comprise formingcomponents of a first yoke, as discussed above.

Step 1220 is directed to forming the writer pole above the substrate.The writer pole can be, for example, a lower pole in a single-yoketransducer, or a writer pole such as writer pole 130 in a dual-yokedesign like that shown in FIG. 1. The writer pole is formed of amagnetic material, and preferably a material with a high magneticmoment, by a method such as plating. Step 1230 is directed to formingthe gap layer above the writer pole. Aspects of forming the gap layerare discussed above with respect to FIG. 6.

In step 1240 the shield pedestal layer, including a first back edge thatdefines a first plane, is formed above the gap layer. In step 1250 theelectrical lapping guide including a resistive element layer is formed.The resistive element layer is formed both above the writer pole andlaterally disposed relative to the shield pedestal layer. Additionally,the resistive element layer has a second back edge defining a secondplane that is essentially parallel to the first plane defined by theback edge of the shield pedestal layer. Aspects of forming the shieldpedestal layer and the electrical lapping guide are discussed in detailabove with respect to FIGS. 6-11.

It should be noted that in FIGS. 6-11 the resistive element layer 1000is formed above the gap layer 600, however, the method of the inventionis not so limited and only requires forming the resistive element layerabove the writer pole. Accordingly, forming the electrical lapping guidecan include, for example, etching a cavity in the gap layer anddepositing the resistive element layer within the cavity. In such anembodiment the resistive element layer would not be formed above the gaplayer but would still be formed above the writer pole.

As also noted, the exemplary method of fabricating the transducerincludes a step 1260 for dividing from the substrate a slider bar thatincludes the unfinished transducer. In step 1260 dividing the slider barfrom the substrate includes forming a lapping face on the slider bar,where the lapping face exposes the shield pedestal layer and theresistive element layer and is essentially parallel to the first andsecond planes defined by the two back edges. Dividing the slider barfrom the substrate can be achieved, for example, by cutting with adiamond saw.

As further noted above, the exemplary method of fabricating thetransducer also includes steps for completing the transducer byutilizing the electrical lapping guide. These steps include a step 1270directed to lapping the lapping face of the slider bar while monitoringa first electrical resistance measured across the electrical lappingguide, and a step 1280 of stopping the lapping when the first electricalresistance reaches a predetermined value. Although not illustrated inFIG. 12, the method can further comprise, either before step 1270 orafter step 1280, a step of dividing the transducer from the slider barso that the transducer includes the electrical lapping guide.

Monitoring the first electrical resistance in step 1270 can beaccomplished, for example, by coupling an electrical measurement device,such as an ohm-meter, to the bonding pads of the electrical lappingguide. The electrical resistance measured during step 1270 may follow acurve such as that shown in FIG. 4, increasing as the resistive elementand the shield pedestal layers are both lapped shorter. The curve can becalibrated so that the throat height of the shield pedestal will beknown accurately during lapping. When the first electrical resistancemeasured across the electrical lapping guide enters a predeterminedresistance range, or reaches a predetermined threshold, the throatheight is acceptable and lapping stops in step 1280.

FIG. 13 is a flow-chart illustrating another exemplary method offabricating a transducer. As in the previous exemplary embodiment, thetransducer can include either a longitudinal or a perpendicular writeelement. Embodiments of this method can be particularly advantageouswith respect to fabricating perpendicular recording transducers becausethey allow the throat height of a shield pedestal and the MR stripeheight to both be precisely defined. As above, this exemplary method issuitable for fabricating transducers in parallel, but is describedgenerally with respect to a single transducer for simplicity.

The exemplary method of FIG. 13 includes steps for forming on asubstrate an unfinished transducer that includes an electrical lappingguide, and a step for dividing from the substrate a slider bar thatincludes the unfinished transducer. These steps comprise a step 1310 ofproviding a substrate including a magnetoresistive stripe, a step 1320of forming a writer pole above the substrate, a step 1330 of forming agap layer above the writer pole, a step 1340 of forming a shieldpedestal layer above the gap layer, a step 1350 of forming an electricallapping guide, and a step 1360 of dividing a slider bar from thesubstrate. Providing the substrate in step 1310 can include providing awafer and forming a read element on the wafer where the magnetoresistivestripe is a component of the read element. Step 1310 can optionallycomprise forming components of a first yoke, as discussed above. Steps1320-1360 are essentially the same as steps 1220-1260 described above.

The exemplary method of FIG. 13 also includes steps for completing thetransducer by utilizing the electrical lapping guide. These stepsinclude a step 1370 directed to lapping the lapping face of the sliderbar while monitoring a first electrical resistance measured across theelectrical lapping guide and a second electrical resistance measuredacross the magnetoresistive stripe, a step 1380 of adjusting a lappingtilt angle based on the first and second electrical resistances, and astep 1390 of stopping the lapping when the first electrical resistancereaches a predetermined value. Although not illustrated in FIG. 13, themethod can further comprise, either before step 1370 or after step 1390,a step of dividing the transducer from the slider bar so that thetransducer includes the electrical lapping guide.

Monitoring the first electrical resistance in step 1370 can beaccomplished, for example, by coupling an electrical measurement device,such as an ohm-meter, to bonding pads of the electrical lapping guide.Likewise, monitoring the second electrical resistance in step 1370 canbe accomplished by coupling an electrical measurement device to bondingpads of a read circuit that includes the magnetoresistive stripe. Thesecond electrical resistance may follow a curve similar to that shown inFIG. 4, with the second resistance increasing as the magnetoresistivestripe is lapped shorter. The curve can be calibrated so that the stripeheight of the magnetoresistive stripe will be known accurately duringlapping. When the first electrical resistance enters a predeterminedresistance range, or reaches a predetermined threshold, the throatheight is acceptable and lapping stops in step 1390.

The exemplary method of FIG. 13 also includes the step 1380 of adjustinga lapping tilt angle based on the first and second electricalresistances. Here, the tilt angle is an angle of the lapping facerelative to the transverse direction. With reference to FIG. 2, the tiltangle is the angle between the terminus surface of FIG. 1 (TS) and theterminus surface TS′. It will be appreciated that if the first andsecond electrical resistances are calibrated against the throat heightand stripe height, respectively, then by monitoring both resistances itis possible to know the throat height and the stripe height at any timeduring the lapping process. It is also possible to determine the ratesof change of the throat height and the stripe height to determine howrapidly each is being lapped. From this information the tilt anglebetween the lapping face and the lapping medium in the transversedirection can be adjusted.

It is noted that after the transducer is completed, as discussed above,the transducer, including the electrical lapping guide, is divided fromthe slider bar. This typically involves dividing a head, comprising thetransducer and a slider, from the slider bar. Thereafter, furtherprocessing is directed to forming the air bearing surface (ABS) on theslider. Forming the ABS on the slider can be achieved, for example, byetching. As is well known, the ABS can have a complex topography inorder to generate a desired pressure profile under the slider, and thistopography typically includes raised pads separated by stepped orrecessed regions or channels. In some embodiments of the presentinvention, at least one such channel may extend across the terminussurface.

FIG. 14 shows the exemplary transducer of FIG. 5 after furtherprocessing to create the ABS. In this embodiment a channel 1400 of theABS extends across the terminus surface and removes enough of theresistive element 520 so that the electrical connection between the ELGbonding pad 540 and the combined ELG/write bonding pad 550 is severed.In some embodiments, as noted above, the open circuit ending at the ELGbonding pad 540 is inconsequential to the operation of the writecircuit, and breaking the electrical connection through the resistiveelement 520 is likewise inconsequential.

However, other embodiments share the ELG bonding pad 540 with anothercircuit, and in these embodiments it is advantageous to electricallyseparate the ELG bonding pad 540 from the write circuit to isolate thewrite circuit from any other circuit that uses the ELG bonding pad 540.For example, in some embodiments the ELG bonding pad 540 is one of twobonding pads (the other not shown in FIG. 14) that provide electricalconnections to a dynamic fly height heater (DFH) that is used todeliberately induce pole tip protrusion to decrease the spacing betweenthe magnetic disk and the transducer during operation. For suchembodiments, the resistive element 520 of the electrical lapping guideis laterally disposed relative to the shield pedestal in a locationwhere the channel 1400 will be defined. Thus, for example, in someembodiments the channel 1400 extends across the terminus surface to oneside of the shield pedestal and therefore the resistive element 520 isplaced on the same side of the shield pedestal. It will be appreciatedthat the channel 1400 in FIG. 14 removes most of the material from theresistive element 520 before the electrical path is broken, but the sameresult can also be achieved, for instance, by etching through one of thetraces of the electrical lapping guide while leaving the resistiveelement 520 intact.

In the foregoing specification, the invention is described withreference to specific embodiments thereof, but those skilled in the artwill recognize that the invention is not limited thereto. Variousfeatures and aspects of the above-described invention may be usedindividually or jointly. Further, the invention can be utilized in anynumber of environments and applications beyond those described hereinwithout departing from the broader spirit and scope of thespecification. The specification and drawings are, accordingly, to beregarded as illustrative rather than restrictive. It will be recognizedthat the terms “comprising,” “including,” and “having,” as used herein,are specifically intended to be read as open-ended terms of art.

1. A method of fabricating an electrical lapping guide (ELG), the methodcomprising: providing a substrate; forming a writer pole layer above thesubstrate; forming a gap layer of a dielectric material above the writerpole layer; forming a patch of an electrically conductive material abovethe gap layer; forming a mask layer over the gap layer, the mask layerincluding an ELG opening above the patch and a shield pedestal openinglaterally disposed relative to the patch; forming a shield pedestallayer within the shield pedestal opening and forming an ELG mask withinthe ELG opening; removing the mask layer; removing the patch except fora resistive element portion covered by the ELG mask; and removing theELG mask to expose the resistive element portion.
 2. The method of claim1 wherein forming the patch includes sputtering a noble metal.
 3. Themethod of claim 2 wherein sputtering the noble metal includes sputteringgold.
 4. The method of claim 1 further comprising forming a seed layerover the gap layer before forming the mask layer.
 5. The method of claim4 wherein removing the patch includes removing the seed layer exceptwhere the seed layer is covered by the shield pedestal layer and the ELGmask.
 6. The method of claim 1 wherein forming the mask layer includespatterning a layer of photoresist.
 7. The method of claim 1 whereinforming the shield pedestal layer and the ELG mask includes plating. 8.The method of claim 1 wherein removing the patch includes plasmaetching.
 9. The method of claim 1 wherein removing the ELG mask includeswet chemical etching.
 10. The method of claim 1 further comprisingforming a pair of electrical contacts on the resistive element portion.